Pittsburgh School District (home, top schools, universities)

[thelazyone]

I've done some researching on my own and a lot of schools located within PSD do not score high on the state average. Hopefully someone can shed some positive light on this minor sore spot.

[gg]

Originally Posted by thelazyone

I've done some researching on my own and a lot of schools located within PSD do not score high on the state average. Hopefully someone can shed some positive light on this minor sore spot.

Having substandard schools isn't "minor". It is major. It keeps many thousands of people out of the city and the people it keeps out are the ones you want in your area because they care. There is an overwhelming number of poverty stricken residents of Pittsburgh and the home life these kids have is about as bad as anywhere in the world including third world countries. Therefore, the test scores are horrible in most every school in Pittsburgh. There are a few ways of improving it. One would be wealthier people move in the city so more people care and understand that education begins at home which would lessen the percentage of poverty families. Secondly is re-segragate the schools geographically into smaller schools, so Shadyside and Squirrel Hill areas are in one school for example. They could build a school like that up to be quite good I am sure, but that isn't how the current school system is. They make it so all the schools are bad, unless you get into a magnet school, but who wants to risk that with your child?

Sadly this will not change in the next 10 or so years, but maybe someday.

[ex-burgher]

I don't agree. Even when a particular school's individual test scores are mediocre, this does not mean that advanced or motivated kids won't be challenged. As far as I know Pittsburgh schools practice tracking - so especially at a school with a range of income levels, the education for the top students can be good. Here for example is a recent article about an Allderdice senior who is going to Yale in the fall. You can not have an inferior education and get into Yale, let me tell you.
Allderdice senior's love of origami leads to a how-to book on the subject

The problem is really when you have a school in which almost all the kids are poor - then it becomes difficult to offer a full range of AP and advanced classes.

[scrapp]

Originally Posted by ex-burgher

As far as I know Pittsburgh schools practice tracking - so especially at a school with a range of income levels, the education for the top students can be good. .

No tracking in PPS at K-5 level... at least not at the entire classroom level. Instead, they do "cluster grouping" within a classroom. in middle level they start to track in math. i suspect most of tracking happens in high school.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by thelazyone

I've done some researching on my own and a lot of schools located within PSD do not score high on the state average. Hopefully someone can shed some positive light on this minor sore spot.

Many motivated parents move outside the Pittsburgh city limits when their children turn school age because of the low test scores and achievement levels in the PSD.

As a result, the test scores fall even further, as these are the students who are more likely to excel, and are now in other school districts or in private schools.


That definitely does not mean that motivated students can't succeed in the PSD, just that their parents are much less likely to enroll them in the district in the first place.

[thelazyone]

I know that suburban schools typically outscore inner city schools. But I've been living in suburbia for the past 5 years and I'm ready to move back into a city. However, the only thing that has kept me from doing so are the school districts.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

They make it so all the schools are bad, unless you get into a magnet school, but who wants to risk that with your child?

First off, wouldn't say that "all the schools are bad," since at least Allderdice and CAPA generally outperform national averages and consistently send students to top-tier universities.

Second, I wouldn't say that applying to a magnet program is "risking" anything. I went to two public magnet middle schools and two public magnet high schools while I was growing up in Pittsburgh -- it wasn't hard to get into any of them. I think that there is something of a misconception about how rigorous the process is at, for example, CAPA. If you've got a motivated child and you're a motivated parent, your chances are very good.

Regardless of whether you are in a magnet program, the PSP (Pittsburgh Scholars Program) and especially CAS (Center for Advanced Studies) classes at any given public school are generally going to provide educations equivalent to suburban schools. I took CAS courses all four years of high school and was able to easily compete with my peers at an "elite" private liberal arts college, who were almost uniformly educated in the country's top suburban public schools or ritzy private schools. And I did it without my parents spending a dime on my education or moving into a subdevelopment.

[UKyank]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Many motivated parents move outside the Pittsburgh city limits when their children turn school age because of the low test scores and achievement levels in the PSD.

Thats my plan too.

[grimacista]

In all seriousness, find a the school district for a United States city that does well on standardized tests.

[pman]

Masterman is one of the top schools in the state.
A batter question, are their good schools and if so, what are they?